Screen Time

“Day Watch,“ the sequel to the thrilling 2004 Russian supernatural action flick “Night Watch,” will probably confuse fans of the original movie and alienate everyone else. That being said — er typed — director Timur Bekmambetov’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed hit is a fun, fast-paced and often inspired piece of pop moviemaking. The flick is far from perfect though, and it somehow feels a lot more hollow that its groundbreaking predecessor.

“Day Watch” had a limited theatrical run in the U.S., but fans can now catch it on a single-disc unrated DVD with an awkward commentary by Bekmambetov and a “making of” featurette.

Let’s talk visuals … It’s an understatement to call “Day Watch” a marvelous creative technical achievement. Bekmambetov and crew almost outdo themselves with some stunning visuals, CG and camera work here. “Day Watch” impresses not only with its incredibly implausible but mind-blowing action scenes but also with its gritty visual take on urban Moscow. Like “Night Watch,” the filmmakers again successfully sell the idea that a supernatural world full of super-powered beings exists alongside our own. Still, some things are off here. Unlike “Night Watch,” the subtitles on this unrated DVD, unfortunately, aren’t artfully weaved into the movie. They just sit there at the bottom of the screen and do their job instead of floating around and becoming part of the action. It’s a minor complaint, but I was really disappointed as I’m sure most American fans will be.

Let’s talk story … We drop in on Anton, the hero of “Night Watch,” presumably years after the events of the first movie. He’s still our focus point in this odd world where Light (good) and Dark (bad) “Others,” or supernatural beings, live on Earth and police each other with bureaucratic rules based on an ages-old treaty. Things go wonky when Anton’s bratty preteen son, who became a Dark Other in the first movie, fires the first salvo of a supernatural war.

From then, the plot takes some fun and unexpected comic turns and moves along at light speed. Still, this second story in a proposed trilogy feels too much like a middle movie. “Night Watch” did a great job of introducing us into this strange world. “Day Watch” just shows us more of it, and it’s hard to grasp some important plot details and character motivations in one sitting. The story doesn’t really pull you in like it should, and that undercuts what could have been a astonishing surprise ending.

American audiences will most likely miss a lot of what makes this movie special, like a creative title sequence that parodies well-known Russian corporate logos and cameos by famous Russian sci-fi writers and genre actors. “Day Watch” is strictly for fans only. For maximum viewing pleasure, I recommend screening it as part of a double feature with “Night Watch.”

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Photos courtesy Fox Searchlight

Digging all the “Star Trek XI” news and Web leaks as much as I am? DVRing old episodes of “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine” every week? Wondering what Winona Ryder would look like as a Vulcan? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you my friend are probably a die-hard “Star Trek” fan, and I got some good news for you …

The classic “Star Trek” episode “The Menagerie” will be shown in more than 300 theaters in the U.S. and Canada today and Thursday, November 15, including Cinemark Harlingen. Tonight’s Harlingen screening starts at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday will see two screenings, one at 7:30 p.m. and one at 10:30 p.m.

As most Trekkies or Trekkers know, “The Menagerie” is the episode when Spock and Captain Kirk meet up with former Enterprise captain Christopher Pike. This week’s screenings will feature a digitally remastered version of the two-part episode in High Definition and Cinema Surround Sound. The screening will promote next week’s HD-DVD release of the series.

Get more info on these special screenings here.

Mulder and Scully will reunite for some paranormal investigating - and some deadpan romantic tension - for a second “X-Files” movie, reports SyFy Portal. Twentieth Century Fox announced that the flick is in pre-production and will hit theaters July 25, 2008.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are attached to reprise their roles from the series and the original 1998 movie. Series creator Chris Carter is attached to direct. The report states that the sequel will not be a direct continuation of the last movie. Instead it will be more like one of the self-contained mystery episodes of the series and that it will take Mulder and Scully’s relationship in “unexpected directions.”

“Unexpected directions?” I stopped watching this show after Duchovny bailed and the T-1000 took over. Still, I’m excited about this sequel. At its peak, “The X-Files” was one of the best things on TV, and the first movie was a lot of fun.
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Photo courtesy Twentieth Century Fox

Yuck. That’s one ugly baby up there. Will you pay seven bucks to see that on the big screen, along with the last death pangs of two formerly awesome franchises? Yeah, me neither.

USAToday.com just posted that pic of the alien/predator hybrid monster from the upcoming “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem,“ the unnecessary sequel to the unnecessarily bad 2004 flick “Alien vs. Predator.”

The USA Today story says the filmmakers want to make “Requiem” a darker flick and are taking inspiration from Ridley Scott’s 1979 original “Alien.” I like the sound of that, but I don’t like the look or the idea of ol’ dreads up there. He looks like he should be playing bass for Slipknot.
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Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox

A new Terminator movie without Gov. Schwarzenegger? It looks like it might happen.

Variety and The AP are reporting that a fourth Terminator flick will most likely hit screens in 2009. The working title for the movie is “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,“ and it will take place in the future (der) where humans are battling evil Skynet robots. Warner Bros. hopes to launch another Terminator movie trilogy with this thing.

“Terminator 3″ exec. producer Moritz Borman says it is unlikely that The Governator will reprise his role in part four, since he’s kinda busy running California and terminating “tha special interests” in that state.

I love the Terminator franchise (I even liked “Rise of the Machines” almost as much as the first two) but making another one without Arnold is strike number one for me. Here’s strike number two: The AP reports that “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” director McG is the front runner to helm the new project. McG? He of the joyless, empty thrills and pointless, bloodless action spoofs? Why?

Anyone out there excited about this news?

Well, if you can’t wait two years to get your Terminator fix, you can watch “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on Fox, debuting Jan. 14.
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Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

Like action-packed, post-apocalyptic vampire movies? Then Dec. 14 is your day. That’s when “I Am Legend” hits theaters nationwide. A brand new trailer for the upcoming Will Smith flick just popped up on the Web and it features a lot more action scenes and special effects than the original teaser trailers. Watch it here.

I’m a fan of the classic horror novella by Richard Matheson, on which the movie is based, but it looks like this movie will diverge a lot from the book, which I guess had to happen. The book was really about the hero’s isolation and internal struggle. This new movie looks like it’s more about Will Smith’s struggle to be defined as an action star. Still, I have hope.
It can’t be any worse than 1964’s “The Last Man on Earth” can it? Plus, the CG vampires don’t look too bad. I’ll be at the theater Dec. 14.
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Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Michael Bay’s fun but bloated epic “Transformers” hits stores today in a single-disc DVD, a two-disc DVD set and a high-definition HD-DVD version. Did they include bonus features? You betcha. There’s tons of ‘em on the two-discer, including featurettes about the Autobots and Decepticons backstory and the movie’s special effects.

Great, but I think the good people at Paramount missed an opportunity to include the ultimate special feature on the two-discer, 1986’s animated “Transformers: The Movie.”

Was Paramount afraid to include the two films in the same package? Did they figure that Bay’s flick would pale in comparison to the 1986 Sony Wonder Video classic? Well, of course not. They just didn’t care to do it. But what do you think, die-hard Transformers fan? Is the 1986 version better, or at least more fun, than Bay’s CG crunch fest? In the interest of serious scientific debate, cultural progress and killing time, let’s compare ‘em.

Action:
2007: That 30-minute blast of mindless urban destruction that ends the movie is almost worth the ticket and DVD price alone, but the flick takes way too long to get there. Plus, all the short bursts of action before it are cut in between long stretches of characters just standing around or, worse, trying to be funny. The special effects are amazing though.

1986: This one is all action all the time. The thing opens with the brutal killing of a bunch of beloved characters and the fighting never seems to stop. If the Autobots aren’t battling the Decepticons, they’re racing each other, blasting other alien robots or flying through outer space. Of course, it’s all animated in that flat, ’80s, you-gotta-be-pushing-30-to-love-it style.

Winner: Tie

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UPDATE: Pine Is Kirk! ‘LOTR’ actor is Bones!

Hot off the news that Eric Bana (now an official badass after being referenced in “Knocked Up”) will play the villain in JJ Abrams upcoming “Star Trek XI” project, reports are coming in that actor Chris Pine is being considered for the role of Captain Kirk. Some folks are even calling Pine the new “It Boy.”

Pine is probably best known for starring opposite Lindsay Lohan in “Just My Luck” and for playing one of the assassins in “Smokin’ Aces” - both of these movies made me want to flee the theater. I know, I know … it’s unfair to judge Pine by his short resume, and he might even prove Bill Shatner proud if he does get to sit in that captain’s chair in the new “Trek” flick.

I gotta say that I ‘d rather see Pine as Kirk than that frat-a-touille Mike Vogel.

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Photo courtesy Samuel Goldwyn Films

 UPDATE: Vogel OUT, Pine IN!

… and who the heck is Mike Vogel?

Those are two questions people paying close attention to the hype surrounding JJ Abrams’ upcoming “Star Trek XI” project are asking themselves today.

IESB reported this week that Vogel, who also stars in Abrams’ upcoming “Cloverfield” project, will most likely be cast as the new Kirk in Abrams’ upcoming “Trek” update. The role was, of course, made famous by William Shatner.

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Even before the opening credits started to roll in “Transformers“ this summer, most movie fans knew a sequel was inevitable. Now we have a release date. Box Office Mojo reports that, according to Paramount, we’ll get to see the Autobots smashing into some Decepticons again on June 26, 2009. The big question is … Will Michael Bay return to direct?

Web rumors are circulating that Bay might opt out of the sequel to helm some other projects. Also, the word is that the impending Hollywood strike might somehow screw with Bay’s filmmaking schedule, making it difficult for him to meet the June 2009 release date.

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